Hollywood shines at Concord Light Plant

Thursday

Jul 25, 2013 at 12:01 AMJul 25, 2013 at 10:24 PM

Deborah Mullen, senior administrative assistant at Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP), said it was interesting watching a film crew transform the plant’s parking garage last week into a set for the upcoming movie “The Judge.”

Kimberly A. Hooper/Staff Writer

Deborah Mullen, senior administrative assistant at Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP), said it was interesting watching a film crew transform the plant’s parking garage last week into a set for the upcoming movie “The Judge.”

“They had more lights, green screens, white screens and people running around like little ants in our garage last Monday,” Mullen said. “It was actually somewhat comical. And all for probably a couple minutes of a movie. ”

Crews set up at the Light Plant around 8 a.m. last Monday, CMLP Director David Wood said. At around 2:30 p.m. the actors shot a few scenes and finished up around 6:30 p.m. that same day.

The Judge” directed by David Dobkin, is about a successful lawyer who “returns to his hometown for his mother’s funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town’s judge, is suspected of murder,” according to IMDb’s website, an online authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content.

Wood said the Light Plant was a very busy place last Monday as the film brought many people and equipment to the site. He said although it was pretty hectic, the crew didn’t disrupt the CMLP’s work in any way at all.

Mullen said the CMLP linemen parked their trucks on the outside of the building during lunchtime as they usually do and stayed out of the garage after they ate.

“They still had full access to the inventory for any needs they had,” she said. “The movie crew entered and left the set through the repair bays and kept the garage doors shut the whole time. They even brought in a huge portable air conditioning system and big duct tubing so they could keep the actors cool while they were working.”

A silver Ford Explorer with Indiana license plates was being used inside the garage for the filming. According to the film’s publicist, the movie takes place in Indiana.

In addition to filming at the Light Plant on Monday, the crew also shot a few scenes at MCI-Concord prison right down the road.

Stars Robert Duvall, a veteran actor who is known for his roles in “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now,” was on scene at CMLP as was Robert Downey Jr., known for his roles in “The Avengers” and “Iron Man.” Young actress Emma Tremblay was also on set.

Mullen said a few members of the CMLP staff went outside to watch the filming for a brief time. While they were out there, Duvall walked over to the group and took pictures with them and signed autographs. She described Duvall as very friendly and generous.

Robert Downey Jr., was busy getting changed for a scene but Mullen said he waved to the group and smiled from about 30 feet away.

The film’s cast also includes Vera Farmiga, who is known for her roles in the films “Up in the Air,” “The Departed” and “Source Code”; Leighton Meester, who is well known for playing Blair Waldorf in the TV series “Gossip Girl”; Dax Shepard, who plays Crosby Braverman in the TV series “Parenthood”; and Billy Bob Thornton, who is known for his roles in “Armageddon” and “Sling Blade.”

Scenes for the movie have also been filmed in Belmont, Waltham, Shelburne Falls, Dedham, Plymouth and various other locations around Boston, according to the publicist.